The present invention relates to a method of covering waste, refuse or other material. The invention is applicable to the handling of waste, refuse or other material which is disposed of in areas such as landfill and land raising sites, waste and refuse establishments and mineral quarries.
It is current practice to provide daily cover for landfill sites at times when they are not actually being filed e.g. overnight. The covering is provided for several reasons including the following:
(i) to reduce odors from decaying waste; PA0 (ii) to deter vermin, birds and flies; PA0 (iii) to minimize wind-blown litter; PA0 (iv) to improve the aesthetic appearance of the site. PA0 (i) a potentially valuable, non-renewable, mineral resource is wasted; PA0 (ii) the material cannot readily be recovered and occupies valuable void which could otherwise be used, for example, for depositing refuse; PA0 (iii) if the cover is impermeable it has the effect of dividing the landfill into relatively small, individual, sub-cells which makes long-term management difficult because the sub-cells will tend to behave as individuals and not en masse; and PA0 (iv) if the daily cover is impermeable it will prevent the migration of fluids, gases and/or liquids and delay final stabilization of the site.
At the moment, valuable non-renewable mineral resources are being used to provide this daily cover. Where clay is used, it is very lumpy and non-flexible making it almost impossible to lay it less than 200 mm deep to provide a reasonable cover. The next day's waste is deposited over the cover layer and thus layers of waste are separated by cover layers which can be impermeable. As a result they inhibit gases released by the decaying matter from migrating and these have to be removed in other ways.
A number of disadvantages arise from the use of minerals such as clay as daily cover, e.g.: